robotic lead placement

• by sandrac
• 2007-12-15 07:12:06
• Complications
• 2027 views
• 6 comments

Hello, I just discovered the PM Club website, and after reading around some of your posts, I decided to join.

I am 51, and I got my ICD in March 2007. I'd only been diagnosed with cardiomyopathy (which they said was most likely caused by a virus that attacked and damaged my heart muscle) in October 2004. The first time my cardiologist mentioned the word pacemaker (about a year after my initial diagnosis), I cried. They said the cardiomyopathy, coupled with a left bundle block arrhythmia I'd had for years, gave me the risk factors for sudden death, so they suggested an ICD. But, I was borderline, so we decided to try to control things with meds. As the next year passed, though, I began to notice a decline in the way I felt, and my ability to do activities that I enjoyed (like walking and ballroom dancing). So, the second time my doctor used the word "pacemaker," I decided to go ahead with it.

My initial ICD implant took about 3 1/2 hours, and went quite well, and I remember feeling a marked improvement in the way my heart felt as soon as it started pacing. The next morning, after having a chest x-ray as part of my pre-release, I got a somber visit by my doctors, who told me that I was one of those patients who had one of those "occasional" complications... my leads had pulled out of position and they had to go back in to try to re-place them.

So, back to the Cath lab I went. Thank goodness for the drugs, because the second round took about 7 hours. But, hard as they tried, they just couldn't get the left lead to stick, so I was told my next option was robotic surgery.

I had to wait a week to get in for the robotic lead placement surgery. The surgeon had told me he had a "little bitty robot," but it turned out that it takes a whole big room to run it. It's called the DaVinci surgery system, and I think it's truly amazing how it is being used for minimally invasive surgeries. The surgery was successful, and I only have three half-inch scars (two on my back, one under my arm) to show for it (well, in addition to my pacemaker scar). They sent me home the afternoon of the day after my surgery, and a little over a week later I went back to work half days for a little while.

It wasn't all sunshine... I hurt like heck for a few weeks, and had a painful tenderness in my left breast that lasted for about a month, and I still occasionally feel a bit of a pinch around my pacemaker. But, to me, it was worth it, because I feel so much better! I can walk (and even ballroom dance) and not feel strange palpitations or pains in my chest. And I no longer feel like I'm walking around in a fog. I am so grateful for this technology that has given my life back to me.

So, I'm sorry about this long post, I just wanted to share my experience with you all. And I'm so happy to have found this website and looking forward to connecting with others of you who've had this experience of getting a pacemaker.